1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of enclosures for bathtub/shower combinations which enable the bathtub/shower to be enclosed so that when a person takes a shower, water will not flow onto the bathroom floor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bathtub closures are known in the market of consumer products. U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,239 discloses a bathtub closure means including two identical rectangular panels, wherein the longitudinal sides of each panel are aligned in a horizontal direction, and the transverse sides of the panel are aligned in a vertical direction. The panels are vertically slidable and counterbalanced, so that the panels can be moved to an elevated position to permit a person to enter the bathtub and then retracted to a lowered position to enable a person to take a shower. This product could not support heavy glass and could only support aluminum framed lightweight acrylic panels.
However, a major setback of the design in U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,239 is that it does not enable the panels to be raised to a height which is sufficient to make the users feel comfortable to enter and exit the bathtub when the two panels are raised to their maximum allowed heights. Such restricted access inhibits a feeling of openness while entering and exiting the bathtub.
Therefore, there is a significant need to provide an enclosure having improved mechanisms including the vertically slidable panels and counterbalanced devices to significantly improve the function of the enclosure, thereby providing sufficient open height to enable a user to easily enter and exit the bathtub.